That may be how this movie begins, but Robert Carillio and Joan Smith aim to change how it ends. They are the dynamic duo behind Cleveland Storefront Art, a small but mighty collaborative that has already begun rewriting the script. By filling the windows of vacant downtown storefronts with works of visual art, the pair is crafting a brighter landscape.

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"It's one of those things that bother you," says Smith of downtown's vacant storefronts. "Kind of like plastic bags in trees." While she admits that getting those irritating blue slips of plastic from branches isn't always possible, filling windows with visual interest is.